Multifunctional furniture

ABSTRACT

A multifunctional furniture includes a stationary seat frame, a supporting frame, a back frame pivotally connected to the stationary seat frame to move between a sitting mode and a bedding mode, and a leg frame arrangement, which is provided underneath the stationary seat frame, the back frame and the supporting frame. When the back frame is in the sitting mode, the back frame is pivotally extended from the leg frame arrangement to form a predetermined angle of inclination with respect to the stationary seat frame while the leg frame arrangement is arranged to support the stationary seat frame, wherein when the back frame is in the bedding mode, the back frame is pivotally moved to align with the seat frame to form a sleeping area, while the leg frame arrangement is operated to provide extensive support to both the back frame, the stationary seat frame and the supporting frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to multifunctional furniture, and moreparticularly to a multifunctional furniture article comprising astationary seat frame, a back frame, and a leg frame arrangement whichis capable of providing extensive support to the stationary seat frameand the back frame when they are selectively used in a sitting mode anda bedding mode.

2. Description of Related Arts

Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B of the drawings, a conventionalmultifunction furniture article, such as a sofa bed, usually comprises astationary seat frame 10P, a back frame 20P, a supporting frame 30P, anda plurality of legs 40P provided underneath the stationary seat frame10P and the supporting frame 30P. As shown in FIG. 1A of the drawings,when the furniture article is used as a sofa, the back frame 20P ispivotally and upwardly extended from the stationary seat frame 10P toform a predetermined angle of inclination with respect to the stationaryseat frame 10P, while the supporting frame 30P is rearwardly extendedfrom the stationary seat frame 10P. Note that the legs 40P are spacedlyprovided underneath the stationary seat frame 10P and the supportingframe 30P for providing support to the sofa bed as a whole.

As shown in FIG. 1B of the drawings, when the furniture article is usedas a bed, the back frame 20P is pivotally and downwardly moved to alignwith the stationary seat frame 10P to rest on the supporting frame 30P.At this position, both the stationary seat frame 10P and the back frame20P are supported by the legs 40P.

There are several disadvantages in associated with this conventionalmultifunctional furniture article. First, because the sofa bed isintended to be selectively used as a sofa or a bed, when it is used as abed, the supporting frame 30P is primarily used for supporting the backframe 20P when it is pivotally moved to align with the seat frame 10P.As a result, there exists a tension between the size of the supportingframe 30P and the supporting strength needed for providing adequatesupport to the back frame 20P when the furniture is used as a bed. Whenthe size of the supporting frame 30P is large, although it providesfairly good support to the back frame 20P, it significantly affect theaesthetic appearance of the entire furniture, and prohibits the sofafrom being positioned next to a wall surface, as the supporting frame30P must be rearwardly extended from the seat frame 10P. This severelylimits widespread application of the conventional sofa bed. Moreover,when the size of the supporting frame 30P is too large, a rear edge 31Pof the supporting frame 30P may bias against a wall surface when thefurniture is used as a sofa. The rear edge 31P may be sharp enough tocause peeling of paint or otherwise cause damage to the wall surface.

On the other hand, when the size of the supporting frame 30P is toosmall, although it does not significant affect the aesthetic appearanceof the entire furniture, it does not provide adequate support to theback frame 20P either. The result is that the sofa bed may break downvery easily, especially when the person sleeping thereon is very heavy.

Second, there exists one type of sofa beds which has a sliding seatframe so that when a user needs to use it as a bed, the seat frame maybe slid frontwardly and the back frame is pivotally moved to align withthe seat frame. The problem with this type of conventional sofa bed isthat the frame is complicated in structure. Moreover, almost all ofthese frames are made of metallic material and the cushion is put on topof the bed frame, they do not generally have very good aestheticappearance. Furthermore, anyone seeing this type of sofa beds willnotice that the bed frame and the cushion are two separate components,yet it is very difficult to make the cushion and the frame become oneintegral body because of the existence of the sliding seat frame.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The invention is advantageous in that it provides a multifunctionalfurniture comprising a stationary seat frame, a back frame, and a legframe arrangement which is capable of providing extensive support to thestationary seat frame and the back frame when they are selectively usedin a sitting mode and a bedding mode.

Another advantage of the invention is to provide a multifunctionalfurniture comprising a leg frame arrangement which does not requiresliding of the seat frame when the furniture changes between the sittingmode and the bedding mode, and provide equally good support in bothmodes of operation.

Another advantage of the invention is to provide a multifunctionalfurniture comprising a leg frame arrangement, wherein the furniture doesnot involve complicated mechanical structure for switching between thesitting mode and the bedding mode, so that the manufacturing cost of thepresent invention can be kept to the minimum.

Another advantage of the invention is to provide a multifunctionalfurniture comprising a leg frame arrangement, wherein the size of thesupporting frame can be minimized without jeopardizing the supportingstrength of the leg arrangement.

Additional advantages and features of the invention will become apparentfrom the description which follows, and may be realized by means of theinstrumentalities and combinations particular point out in the appendedclaims.

According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects andadvantages are attained by providing a multifunctional furniture,comprising:

a stationary seat frame;

a supporting frame rearwardly extended from the stationary seat frame;

a back frame pivotally connected to the stationary seat frame to movebetween a sitting mode and a bedding mode; and

a leg frame arrangement provided underneath the stationary seat frame,the back frame and the supporting frame, in such a manner that when theback frame is in the sitting mode, the back frame is pivotally extendedfrom the leg frame arrangement to form a predetermined angle ofinclination with respect to the stationary seat frame while the legframe arrangement is arranged to support the stationary seat frame,wherein when the back frame is in the bedding mode, the back frame ispivotally moved to align with the seat frame to form a sleeping area,while the leg frame arrangement is operated to provide extensive supportto both the back frame, the stationary seat frame and the supportingframe.

Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from aconsideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed description,the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are schematic diagrams of a conventional furniturearticle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a multifunctional furniture according toa preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the multifunctional furniture according to theabove preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the leg arrangement of themultifunctional furniture according to the above preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are schematic diagrams of the leg arrangement of themultifunctional furniture according to the above preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are also schematic diagrams of the multifunctionalfurniture according to the above preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B and FIG. 6A to FIG. 6Bof the drawings, a multifunctional furniture, such as a sofa bed,according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention isillustrated, in which the multifunctional furniture comprises astationary seat frame 10, a back frame 20, a leg frame arrangement 30and a supporting frame 40.

The stationary sear frame 10 is adapted for being sat by a user, and isstationary. The back frame 20 is pivotally connected to the stationaryseat frame 10 to move between a sitting mode and a bedding mode. On theother hand, the supporting frame 40 is rearwardly extended from thestationary seat frame 10.

The leg frame arrangement 30 is provided underneath the stationary seatframe 10, the supporting frame 40, and the back frame 20, in such amanner that when the back frame 20 is in the sitting mode, the backframe 20 is pivotally extended from the leg frame arrangement 30 to forma predetermined angle of inclination with respect to the stationary seatframe 10 while the leg frame arrangement 30 is arranged to support thestationary seat frame 10, wherein when the back frame 20 is in thebedding mode, the back frame 20 is pivotally moved to align with theseat frame 10 to form a sleeping area, while the leg frame arrangement30 is operated to provide extensive support to both the back frame 20,the supporting frame 40, and the stationary seat frame 10.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the legframe arrangement 30 comprises a plurality of supporting legs 31spacedly mounted underneath the seat frame 10 and the supporting frame40, and an foldable leg frame 32 foldably provided on a rear side of theback frame 20, in such a manner that when the back frame 20 is in thesitting mode, the foldable leg frame 32 is folded to rest on the rearside of the back frame 20. When the back frame 20 is in the beddingmode, the foldable leg frame 32 is extended to from the rear side of theback frame 20 for providing an additional leg support to the back frame20. As such, the entire multifunctional furniture, including thestationary seat frame 10, the back frame 20 and the supporting frame 40are adequately supported by the supporting legs 31 and the foldable legframe 32 when the back frame 20 is in the sitting mode or the beddingmode. This substantially resolves the problems for conventionalmultifunctional furniture as mentioned above.

The multifunction furniture further comprises a first and a secondcushion layer 51, 52 embedding the stationary seat frame 10 and the backframe 20 for allowing a user to seat and rest on the first and thesecond cushion layer 51, 52. It is worth mentioning that the cushionlayers 51, 52 embed the stationary seat frame 10 and the back frame 20so that the cushion layers 51, 52 and these two frames 10, 20 form anintegral body of the multifunctional furniture.

The foldable leg frame 32 comprises a base member 321 mounted on a rearside of the back frame 20, a leg member 322 extended from the basemember 321, and a folding mechanism 323 foldably connecting the backframe 20 and the leg member 322 so as to allow the leg member 322 to beselective folded and unfolded to support the back frame 20 to operate ineither the sitting mode or the bedding mode.

More specifically, the base member 321 has a base wall 3211 mounted ontothe back frame 20, and two sidewalls 3212 extended from the base wall3211 to form a receiving cavity 3213 between the base wall 3211 and thesidewalls 3212 and a substantially U-shaped cross section of the basemember 321. The folding mechanism 323 is operatively mounted in thereceiving cavity 3213 for guiding a folding motion of the leg member322.

The leg member 322 is elongated in shape and has a length which issubstantially the same as the supporting legs 31 so that when the backframe 20 is used in the bedding mode, the multifunctional furniture canbe evenly supported to stand on a ground surface. On the other hand, thefolding mechanism 323 comprises a folding guider 3231 pivotally mountedon the two sidewalls 3212 of the base member 321, wherein an inner endportion of the leg member 322 is mounted to the folding guider 3231 sothat when the folding guider 3231 is driven to move pivotally withrespect to the base member 321, the leg member 322 is also driven tomove accordingly.

The folding guider 3231 has a mounting base 3232 and two side panels3233 extended from the mounting base 3232 to define a guiding cavity3234 between the mounting base 3232 and the two side panels 3233,wherein the inner end portion of the leg member 322 is securely mountedon the mounting base 3232. The folding mechanism 32 further comprises apivot member 33 which is arranged to pass through the curved slot 3235and extended across the two side panels 3233, wherein the folding guider3231 is capable of pivotally moving with respect to the base member 321about the pivot member 33. Thus, one of the side panels 3233 has athrough curved slot 3235 formed thereon wherein the folding guider 3231is pivotally mounted on the base member 321 through this curved slot3235.

The folding mechanism 323 further comprises a locking device 3236provided on the folding guider 3231 and the base member 321 forselectively locking the folding action of the folding guider 3231.According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, thelocking device 3236 comprises a resilient member 3237 mounted on thepivot member 33 for normally exerting an outward biasing force on thepivot member 33. Moreover, the locking device 3236 further comprises alocking member 3238 formed on the pivot member 33, wherein the lockingmember 3238 is cylindrical in structure and is integrally and radiallyextended from the pivot member 33 to define a pivot section 332 betweenthe locking member 3238 and an enlarged head portion 331 of the pivotmember 33. Note that a diameter of the locking member 3238 issubstantially the same as that of the enlarged head portion 331 of thepivot member 33 so as to define a contracted pivot section 332 of thepivot member 33. The resilient member 3237 is arranged to normally biasagainst an inner surface of the locking member 3238 so as to exert anoutward force against the pivot member 33. Due to the outward basingforce of the resilient member 3237, the pivot section 332 is normallyexposed to an exterior of the base member 321.

As shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings, it is important to mention that thecurved slot 3235 has an enlarged section 3239 and a contracted section3240, wherein the diameter of the enlarged section 3239 is substantiallythe same as that of the locking member 3238, while a diameter of thecontracted portion 3240 is substantially the same as that of the pivotsection 332 of the pivot member 33, wherein the locking member 3238 isnormally retained in the enlarged section 3239 of the curved slot 3235so as to block a pivotal movement between the folding guider 3231 withrespect to the base member 321. This happens when the leg member 322 isextended to support the back frame 20. When a user wishes to pivotallymove the leg member 322, he or she has to inwardly press the pivotmember 33 so as to allow the pivot section 331 to align with the curvedslot 3235. After that, the user is able to pivotally move the foldingguider 3231 along the curved slot 3235 so as to pivotally fold the legmember 322.

The leg frame arrangement 30 further comprises a receiving pocket 34formed at a rear side of the second cushion layer 52, wherein thereceiving pocket 34 defines a pocket cavity 341 for receiving thefoldable leg frame 322, and a pocket opening 342 communicating thepocket cavity 341 with an exterior of the receiving pocket 34. Thus,when the back frame 20 is in the bedding mode, the leg member 322 isselectively unfolded to extend from the back frame 20 through the pocketopening 342. When the back frame 20 is in the sitting mode, the legmember 322 is pivotally folded to receive in the pocket cavity 341.Thus, it is worth mentioning that in order to preserve the aestheticappearance of the multifunctional furniture, the receiving pocket 34further comprises a zipper 343 provided at the pocket opening 342 forselectively exposing the pocket cavity 341 with an exterior of thereceiving pocket 34. In other words, when the back frame 20 is in thesitting mode, the zipper 343 is operated to close the pocket opening 342for hiding the foldable leg frame 32.

One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of thepresent invention as shown in the drawings and described above isexemplary only and not intended to be limiting.

It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have beenfully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown anddescribed for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structuralprinciples of the present invention and is subject to change withoutdeparture from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes allmodifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the followingclaims.

1. A multifunctional furniture, comprising: a stationary seat frame; asupporting frame rearwardly extended from said stationary seat frame; aback frame pivotally connected to said stationary seat frame to movebetween a sitting mode and a bedding mode; and a leg frame arrangementprovided underneath said stationary seat frame, said back frame and saidsupporting frame, in such a manner that when said back frame is in saidsitting mode, said back frame is pivotally extended from said leg framearrangement to form a predetermined angle of inclination with respect tosaid stationary seat frame while said leg frame arrangement is arrangedto support said stationary seat frame, wherein when said back frame isin said bedding mode, said back frame is pivotally moved to align withsaid seat frame to form a sleeping area, while said leg framearrangement is operated to provide extensive support to both said backframe, said stationary seat frame and said supporting frame.
 2. Themultifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 1, wherein said leg framearrangement comprises a plurality of supporting legs spacedly mountedunderneath said seat frame and said supporting frame, and an foldableleg frame foldably provided on a rear side of said back frame, in such amanner that when said back frame is in said sitting mode, said foldableleg frame is folded to rest on said rear side of said back frame,wherein when said back frame is in said bedding mode, said foldable legframe is extended from said rear side of said back frame for providingan additional leg support to said back frame.
 3. The multifunctionalfurniture, as recited in claim 2, wherein said foldable leg framecomprises a base member mounted on a rear side of said back frame, a legmember extended from said base member, and a folding mechanism foldablyconnecting said back frame and said leg member so as to allow said legmember to be selectively folded and unfolded to support said back frameto operate between said sitting mode and said bedding mode.
 4. Themultifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 3, wherein said basemember has a base wall mounted onto said back frame, and two sidewallsextended from said base wall to form a receiving cavity between saidbase wall and said sidewalls and a substantially U-shaped cross sectionof said base member, wherein said folding mechanism is operativelymounted in said receiving cavity for guiding a folding motion of saidleg member.
 5. The multifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 4,wherein said folding mechanism comprises a folding guider pivotallymounted on said two sidewalls of said base member, wherein an inner endportion of said leg member is mounted to said folding guider so thatwhen said folding guider is driven to move pivotally with respect tosaid base member, said leg member is also driven to move accordingly. 6.The multifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 5, wherein saidfolding guider has a mounting base and two side panels extended fromsaid mounting base to define a guiding cavity between said mounting baseand said two side panels, wherein said inner end portion of said legmember is securely mounted on said mounting base.
 7. The multifunctionalfurniture, as recited in claim 6, wherein said folding mechanism furthercomprises a pivot member which is arranged to pass through said curvedslot and extended across said two side panels, wherein said foldingguider is capable of pivotally moving with respect to said base memberabout said pivot member, wherein one of said side panels has a throughcurved slot formed thereon wherein said folding guider is pivotallymounted on said base member through said curved slot.
 8. Themultifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 7, wherein said foldingmechanism further comprises a locking device provided on said foldingguider and said base member for selectively locking said folding actionof said folding guider, wherein said locking device comprises aresilient member mounted on said pivot member for normally exerting anoutward biasing force on said pivot member, and a locking member formedon said pivot member, wherein said locking member is integrally andradially extended from said pivot member to define a pivot sectionbetween said locking member and an enlarged head portion of said pivotmember, wherein said resilient member is arranged to normally biasagainst an inner surface of said locking member so as to exert anoutward force against said pivot member.
 9. The multifunctionalfurniture, as recited in claim 8, wherein said curved slot has anenlarged section and a contracted section, wherein said diameter of saidenlarged section is substantially said same as that of said lockingmember, while a diameter of said contracted portion is substantially thesame as that of said pivot section of said pivot member, wherein saidlocking member is normally retained in said enlarged section of saidcurved slot so as to block a pivotal movement between said foldingguider with respect to said base member, wherein when said pivot memberis slightly pressed inwardly, said pivot section is arranged to alignwith said curved slot so as to allow a pivotal movement of said foldingguider along said curved slot.
 10. The multifunctional furniture, asrecited in claim 3, wherein said leg member is elongated in shape andhas a length which is substantially said same as that of said supportinglegs so that when said back frame is used in said bedding mode, saidmultifunctional furniture can be evenly supported to stand on a groundsurface.
 11. The multifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 7,wherein said leg member is elongated in shape and has a length which issubstantially said same as that of said supporting legs so that whensaid back frame is used in said bedding mode, said multifunctionalfurniture can be evenly supported to stand on a ground surface.
 12. Themultifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 9, wherein said legmember is elongated in shape and has a length which is substantiallysaid same as that of said supporting legs so that when said back frameis used in said bedding mode, said multifunctional furniture can beevenly supported to stand on a ground surface.
 13. The multifunctionalfurniture, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a first and asecond cushion layer embedding said stationary seat frame and said backframe respectively to form an integral body of said multifunctionalfurniture.
 14. The multifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 7,further comprising a first and a second cushion layer embedding saidstationary seat frame and said back frame respectively to form anintegral body of said multifunctional furniture.
 15. The multifunctionalfurniture, as recited in claim 9, further comprising a first and asecond cushion layer embedding said stationary seat frame and said backframe respectively to form an integral body of said multifunctionalfurniture.
 16. The multifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 12,further comprising a first and a second cushion layer embedding saidstationary seat frame and said back frame respectively to form anintegral body of said multifunctional furniture.
 17. The multifunctionalfurniture, as recited in claim 13, wherein said leg frame arrangementfurther comprises a receiving pocket formed at a rear side of saidsecond cushion layer, wherein said receiving pocket defines a pocketcavity for receiving said foldable leg frame, and a pocket openingcommunicating said pocket cavity with an exterior of said receivingpocket, wherein when said back frame is in said bedding mode, said legmember is selectively unfolded to extend from said back frame throughsaid pocket opening, wherein when said back frame is in said sittingmode, said leg member is pivotally folded to receive in said pocketcavity.
 18. The multifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 14,wherein said leg frame arrangement further comprises a receiving pocketformed at a rear side of said second cushion layer, wherein saidreceiving pocket defines a pocket cavity for receiving said foldable legframe, and a pocket opening communicating said pocket cavity with anexterior of said receiving pocket, wherein when said back frame is insaid bedding mode, said leg member is selectively unfolded to extendfrom said back frame through said pocket opening, wherein when said backframe is in said sitting mode, said leg member is pivotally folded toreceive in said pocket cavity.
 19. The multifunctional furniture, asrecited in claim 15, wherein said leg frame arrangement furthercomprises a receiving pocket formed at a rear side of said secondcushion layer, wherein said receiving pocket defines a pocket cavity forreceiving said foldable leg frame, and a pocket opening communicatingsaid pocket cavity with an exterior of said receiving pocket, whereinwhen said back frame is in said bedding mode, said leg member isselectively unfolded to extend from said back frame through said pocketopening, wherein when said back frame is in said sitting mode, said legmember is pivotally folded to receive in said pocket cavity.
 20. Themultifunctional furniture, as recited in claim 16, wherein said legframe arrangement further comprises a receiving pocket formed at a rearside of said second cushion layer, wherein said receiving pocket definesa pocket cavity for receiving said foldable leg frame, and a pocketopening communicating said pocket cavity with an exterior of saidreceiving pocket, wherein when said back frame is in said bedding mode,said leg member is selectively unfolded to extend from said back framethrough said pocket opening, wherein when said back frame is in saidsitting mode, said leg member is pivotally folded to receive in saidpocket cavity.